Its a matter of safety. It may be possible, even if the wake is not that great, but having an exposed prop at the rear of the boat while wakesurfing would be very dangerous and most likely illegal in your state.

Its a tough answer to say you can't do it with your boat, but its just not safe.

That may prevent you from losing a limb, but won't make it safe. If you do do that, don't post about it or tell anyone. Its not a snobbish thing. If you are out wakesurfing behind an I/O, then you run the risk of hurting the sport for everyone else by possibly causing a change in laws or something. If you want to know what its like to wakesurf, come visit lake oroville and we will be happy to give you a ride on a great wake, and a great board. You also don't have to buy a new inboard, there are boats like the Sanger 215 or Tige 24v, or Centurion Avalanche that can be found used for a great price.

I think all of you are being too dramatic. I plucked a video from youtube of a guy surfing behind a 37ft searay.
You can clearly tell it is I/O driven by the signature I/O prop wash at the rooster tail. These guys are retarded for sitting on the back swim deck and not wearing life jackets, but they are doing it. Alot of I/O's are being manufactured with an overhanging swim platform that provides plenty of protection from a rider falling into the prop. I have an inboard and have never had anyone hit the back of the boat on a fall. People either catch edge, slide off edge or loose momentum in the pocket and fall back. We run like 10-11mph and a fall has never put someone on the back swim platform, where the outdrive/prop would be located on an I/O. The boat is just carrying too much forward momentum for it to happen. A surfer would have to get real close to the boat and have the legs of a track and field long jumper to make it to the boat at 10mph.

The post author asked if it can be done and the answer is yes in my opinion, with a large factory or aftermarket swim deck installed (preferably) or some sort of prop guard, it is doable.

Just don't do it behind an I/O or Outboard. You could do it 100 times and never have an issue its that one time you do get someone hurt that will ruin boating for you. Plus it does not take much for these fools in congress to ban a sport because they are so ignorant that they are just playing it safe. I live in a state where 99% of the cities have a ban on fireworks. My family and my frieds have been doing them for years without a single issue, its just that one family of screw ups that let a kid get hurt or burned down a neighbors house that resulted in the whole city getting punished with a ban. The same thing can happen to Wake Surfing. Don't screw it up for all of us.

I own an Outboard and really wanted to do the sport but did some research and saw how dangerous it is. That being the case I have never Wake Surfed and am waiting to do it when I can afford to trade up for an inboard. It sucks having to wait but what would suck more is having a friend or family member get seriously injured on my boat.

We've surfed behind my cousins 30 ft Sea Ray. Probably not the smartest idea but you're a good 10-15ft away from the outdrives. It would take some serious effort, practically a forward dive to go into the props. This thread makes me feel a lot more uncomfortable about it though! I'll stick with the SAN 210!

Lot o' fast moving water coming off of that prop. I would be surprised if anyone could stick their hand in there and touch the prop. You'd have to somehow get ahead of the prop and get sucked into it.

Sorry to be the devil's advocate on this, but everyone talks about how unsafe it is. Yet, no one has ever heard of anyone getting hurt doing it.

Had a friend who lost some teeth on a fall into the swim deck, had it been an I/O he would have lost more than that. Sorry but it's completely possible to end up int he prop of an I/O, just takes one bad move by the driver or rider. Not worth the risk.

This is like another subject that bothers me.I ride on Lake Erie and request that anyone that goes in the water off my boat wears a life vest mainly due to the fact that once you're 2 feet below the surface you disappear.I get people telling me "I've been diving into Erie for years,you're crazy".I look at both these situations the same,it may never happen,but it only takes one time then what?The rest of my life I have to think about how my friend got mangled or drowned while having fun on the water.As far as the i/o owner claiming they have a large platform it doesn't matter due to the shape and the height of them.Most have a curve that starts at the rub rail and goes in towards the transom.They are also above the surface of the water,so if the driver slows or stops with a rider up without the rider knowing the rider can be pushed down towards the outdrive when they hit the platform.Most if not all wakeboat platforms are under the surface when surfing and the prop is 2 feet before the transom and has a rudder behind it,I/Os stick out from the transom 1-2 feet depending on how it's trimmed.